With Google Maps getting the boot in iOS 6, and Apple replacing it with its very own Maps application, we’ve found ourselves wondering exactly what consumers have to gain from the change. With more features and services added to Apple’s Maps application, we had to ask, who has more business listings in their Maps app, Apple or Google?
Apple not only has more businesses tied into their mapping service, but the number is a significant difference. Apple’s “new mapping program for the iPhone and iPad will have more than 100 million businesses listed in its database when it’s released this fall,” according to Scott Forstall during the iOS 6 announcement at WWDC 2012. That’s a big number, but how many are there in Google Maps? According to Bloomberg, and their source at Google, “Google has only 80 million local business listings available in its mapping software.” All in all, Apple’s Maps has 20 million more entries than Google Maps. Huh.
A lot of us, myself included, assumed that Apple’s Maps offering would require a little bit of patience from consumers as the company slowly built up its listings over time, but from the sounds of it, through key partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Waze, Yelp, Acxiom, and Localeze, Apple’s not only ready to replace Google Maps, but they may actually provide an entirely better and more accurate experience right out of the gate. But, only time will tell, and we won’t truly know until Apple releases Maps to the public later this summer.
Source: Bloomberg
